Changing the Clouds
by ellabellbee
Summary: "When he woke up, his dream mimicked the real world perfectly."  Walt-centric.  Set after the raft set sail in Season 1.


**I'm finally archiving my fic here. Originally posted on LJ 2008-08-05. Set after the raft set sail in Season 1.**

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><p>Walt lay flat on his back, his eyes squinted against the bright sun as the water rocked beneath him. He wasn't one to get seasick, so the raft's movements were almost welcoming. 'Almost' only because when an especially strong gust of wind hit the sail, someone was bound to loose their balance and stumble over his legs.<p>

They weren't even that long.

The clouds drifted overhead, large and fluffy. He had learned about clouds in one of his classes, but he didn't remember anything about them. There was some way to predict rain...

He closed his eyes and tried to remember what these clouds were called. Cuma... cumu... cumulus clouds they were called, because they were so tall.

His brow furrowed as he strained against his memory for the other types of clouds. Stratus. That was the flat kind of cloud that made the days look grey and sad.

Then there were prefixes for where they sat in the sky. Something that meant high, medium and low he was sure of, but the Latin hid beyond the tip of his tongue.

There was something else too... Walt's brow furrowed again as he tried to imagine the word. Ni... nib... It meant rain clouds. The word floated behind his eyelids and his mouth moved, trying to sound out the moving letters. Nib... nim... Nim-bus. Nimbus. He worked it out and his mouth sprang into a grin and his forehead relaxed, happy he was able to remember it all.

When his eyes opened though, the sky he left was no long there, and instead he saw Sawyer, Jin and his dad staring at the sky in awe.

"Have y'ever seen somethin' like that?"

Walt barely had time to think before he saw the sky open up and the Cumulonimbus clouds fall on them.

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><p>Wet and cold, Walt huddled at the front of the raft between the covered electronics and food storage, trying to shield himself from the wind. He fell asleep dreaming of blue skies, green water, and a soft warm breeze. When he woke up, his dream mimicked the real world perfectly.<p>

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><p>He lay awake at night staring at the stars, trying to remember something about astrology and constellations. He never paid attention to that in school, and found himself wishing for someone that remembered the stories and fables of generations past.<p>

"Hey dad, you awake?" Walt leaned up on his elbows searching for recognition from the sleeping man beside him.

"Sure, little man, what's up?"

"Do you know anything about these stars? The patterns and stuff?"

Michael rolled onto his back and placed his hands behind his head and sighed. "Nope. I can tell you that they're millions of light years away, but I don't know any of the constellations."

"Oh." Walt lay back down disappointed.

Michael rolled onto his side, his head resting on his propped up arm. "I remember hearing Claire and Locke talking about them on the island, something about how the seasons were different in the southern hemisphere and Locke couldn't find some star he was looking for. We were playing with Vincent, remember?" He paused to look up once more. "I'll tell you what. When we rescue the others, we'll ask them about the stars. Sound good?"

Walt sighed, annoyed with having to wait. "Yeah, okay." He shifted uncomfortably against the bamboo flooring of the raft. He had come accustomed to the shifting sand, and the bamboo was hurting his back. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the lost conversation between his two older friends. He pictured their face behind his eyes and smiled. It made him feel happy, remembering those that they were going to save.

There was Vincent and Shannon, and Kate, and Jack... Walt thought of them each in turn, picturing their faces with startling clarity. And he liked playing backgammon with Hurley, and Sun was going to teach him about the plants she was growing, and the beach was much more comfortable than he was now... He drifted off, thinking about the best times on the island and the people he had left behind.

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><p>He woke a few hours later, disoriented and confused. The gentle rocking motion beneath finally reminded him that he was no longer on the beach, despite what his very real feeling dreams told him. The voices arguing finally registered with him so he got up to investigate the excitement and the beeping noise.<p>

"What is it? Is it a ship?"

"We don't know, little man. We don't know."

His heart gripped excitedly at the thought of another boat - not necessarily of rescue from the raft, but of being able to go rescue the other people from the beach. He'd get to visit the island again. He stood transfixed over the radar screen. "It's moving away."

As the flare gun comes out and the rescue ship comes back towards them, Walt thinks of Vincent, and how happy he'll be to see him back on the island.

It isn't until too late that he realizes that he should have added "with the rescue team" to his last thought. As the tug boat drifted away, he thought of his dreams that he just had, of travelling through the jungle.

He shivered, and shifted his thoughts to his Dad, Jin and Sawyer, left to die in the middle of the ocean. He then imagined them getting onto the remaining parts of the raft, and drifting back to shore.

It was the last thing he thought before the heavy object hit his head, and he travelled back to the dream world.


End file.
